Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a guide pin for electrical connectors, and more specifically, to a guide pin having an attachment section on one end that can be fastened in a mounting hole in an assembly and a pre-engagement guide section on the other end.
Such guide pins are used in the "SIPAC" connector system described in the February 1995 edition of the Siemens Data Book on "Steckverbinder/Connectors", pages 7-59. The "SIPAC" connector system has pins located on both edges of the shorter sides of the male connector body in a connection between a female connector body mounted on an assembly and a male connector body arranged on a rear wall. Each of the pins is fastened in a mounting hole formed in the rear wall. The guide pins provide precentering of the assembly and are also used in combination with special keying parts to key the connection. Moreover, they can be used at the same time for pre-engagement grounding or as initial pre-engagement high-current contacts. In the known connector, the guide pin is formed of a machined part with a flange and an internal thread on the mounting end. The flange of the pin is drawn against and fastened to the rear wall by a screw that is threaded into the internal thread from the far side of the rear wall. The method of assembly and fastening is relatively time-consuming and thus expensive due to the connecting device being configured as a screw.